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YES PowInc 2018-2019 Kids’ Snowboard Review

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For the last couple of winters, the brilliantly-named YES FunInc has been one of the finest kids’ boards out there. However, its freestyle focus will perhaps under-serve the legion of emerging pow-groms, which grows larger with each passing year.

For the guys at YES (many of whom have kids of their own, the answer was simple; take the ever-popular YES 420, scale it down, tweak the specs, and hey presto – you have the YES PowInc kids’ snowboard.

“The YES PowInc is all about the shape, designed to be ridden shorter and wider than most kids’ models”

As is the case with most grom versions of adult models, the YES PowInc doesn’t share the same tech as its progeny: the core has no lightweight paulownia wood, and is instead 100% poplar; the fibreglass is biax rather than triax; and it has an extruded base rather than sintered. In this regard, it has more in common with the FunInc.

He reasons for that are obvious; a growing mini-shred has less use for more advanced features, and parents aren’t as willing to shell out for something that will eventually be outgrown. Furthermore, a softer, more malleable deck is actually better suited to a grom anyway.

The YES PowInc is all about the shape, anyway. Designed to be ridden shorter and wider than most kids’ models, it has a long, rockered nose and a directional shape that delivers phenomenal float in powder. If you’ve ever worried about taking your young charge into the trees, then this will give you some peace of mind; like the bigger version, it can turn its way out of trouble in a heartbeat.

“If you’ve ever worried about taking your young charge into the trees, then this will give you some peace of mind”

It’s only available in one length just now, but we’re fully expecting this one to catch on, and serve the young freeride contingent as well as the FunInc has done with the park rats. Our test team raved about the YES PowInc – perhaps you know someone that will love it just as much.

Tester’s Verdict

Lightning

“This is the best board I’ve ever ridden. I rode powder, piste and park in the same day and it was all brilliant. I did back flips, the biggest cliff I’ve ever done, a really nice 180 and some boxes and it was brilliant. It also did wheelies, which I loved. It is a powder board that can do everything.”

Ella

“I really enjoyed this board, it was really light and playful, but at 125cm it was quite short for me and felt a little bit scary sometimes when I was going fast.”

Dad’s Comments

“For the right rider, this board was nothing short of incredible. Ella was a little too big so struggled with it, but for Lightning it was the perfect size. His usual board is a 130cm, but stepping down to a 125cm with float lifted his confidence with every run.

If there is such a thing as a quiver killer for kids, this is it; it can slay powder, piste and park, so is ideal. It actually became very difficult to get Lightning to test other boards, as he only wanted to ride this.”

Trade Secrets

Alex Warburton – Brand Director, YES

“I don’t know about the rest of the world, but here in BC the average grom has gotten so good so fast, that their maturity into powder happens by age 9.

The PowInc was in response to that – and, admittedly, our own kids’ demands (RMD, DCP and and myself all have kids ripping on the PowInc.)

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